Physical Properties of Matter- Vocabulary Workshop Station Lab

After reading about physical properties of matter, I wanted students to have a chance to experience what the different vocabulary words meant and gain some common experiences so that we would be able to reference these experiences in later classes.  My students were also struggling with the new vocabulary words as well as the idea that melting temperature was a physical property.  These six stations are designed for students to rotate through independently in small groups.  The teacher will be at the gallium melting demonstration station throughout the activity while also monitoring students' progress around the room. At each station students will create a Frayer Model for the vocabulary term that includes the term, definition, a drawing, a synonym, an example, and a sentence that uses the term.




Station Instructions

Print out one station instruction sheet for each student who will be at the station at a time.  See the slides linked below.

Physical Properties of Matter Vocab Stations- Google slides

Download: Go_Open_VA_Copy_of_Physical_Properties_Vocab_Stations.pdf


This will allow students to stay on task without having to wait for others to finish writing.

Also, give students three copies of the Frayer model sheet (they need 6 Frayer Model Templates- one for each station.)

Physical Properties Frayer Models- Google Slides

Download: Go_Open_VA_Copy_of_Physical_Properties_Frayer_Models.pdf


Station 1: Melting Point

Materials: Goggles for teacher and a pair for each student at the station.  Gloves for teacher.

SDS sheet for Gallium

Gallium Metal

Syringe

Mold for gallium

hot water- not boiling

Ice water

Small glass beakers

Instructions: show students the small cube of gallium from the mold.  Have students discuss its physical properties and how they know it's a solid.  Then, put it into the hot water.  They can watch it melt rapidly.  Use the syringe to suck up the liquid gallium and put it back into the mold. Discuss how they can tell that the gallium is a liquid. Askthem if it is still the same substance (it is).  Stress that melting point and freezing point are the same temperature and that melting and freezing a PHYSICAL changes because the chemical identity of the substance is the same.

Slide 1 with melting chocolate bar
Capture_1.PNGSlide 1 with melting chocolate bar

Slide 1 with melting chocolate bar


Station 2: Density

Materials: 

Large container with water (I use a clear plastic storage container)

6 pound bowling ball (can be borrowed from local bowling alley)

15 pound bowling ball (can be borrowed from local bowling alley)

Towels for cleaning any spills

Slide 2 with density squares
Capture_2.PNGSlide 2 with density squares

Slide 2 with density squares


Station 3: Viscosity

Three viscosity tubes or clear bottles (water bottles work well) with lids.

Three marbles that fit into viscosity tubes/bottles

Fill the three bottles with different materials: I use dish soap, water, and corn syrup.

Timer/stopwatch

Slide three with viscous honey
Capture_3.PNGSlide three with viscous honey

Slide three with viscous honey


Station 4: Malleability

Two samples of pennies- one regular penny, one souvenir smooshed penny

Small square of aluminum foil

Slide four with gold foil
Capture_4.PNGSlide four with gold foil

Slide four with gold foil


Station 5: Solubility

Materials: 

Bowl with sand

Bowl with salt

2 spoons

2 cups

water

Waste bucket- to collect water/salt/sand mixtures

Clean water in pitcher

Slide five with Kool-Aid solution
Capture_5.PNGSlide five with Kool-Aid solution

Slide five with Kool-Aid solution


Station 6: Elasticity

Choositz Decision Balls

Loop of string

Rubberband

Slide 6 with stretched rubberband
Capture_6.PNGSlide 6 with stretched rubberband

Slide 6 with stretched rubberband


Picture sources in order of appearance in slideshow

Melting Chocolate Bar at https://freesvg.org/melting-chocolate-bar on 12/22/19 License: CC0 1.0 https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Honey at https://pixabay.com/photos/honey-yellow-beekeeper-nature-1958464/?scrlybrkr=c3dc6f8a on 12/22/19 License: CC0 1.0 https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Gold Metallic Texture at https://www.flickr.com/photos/geishaboy500/7241678418 on 12/22/19. Cropped picture used here.  License: Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Brown handle hammer with shadow at https://publicdomainvectors.org/en/free-clipart/Vector-graphics-of-brown-handle-hammer-with-shadow/22083.html on 12/22/19 License: CC0 1.0 https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Gold Bar Vector File at https://www.goodfreephotos.com/vector-images/gold-bar-vector-file.png.php on 12/22/19 License: CC0 1.0 https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Snapback to reality by Sander van der Wel at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:(356-365)_Snapback_to_reality_(6283432546).jpg on 12/22/19 License: Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

The Krazy Kool-Aid at https://www.flickr.com/photos/feastoffools/96647086/in/photostream/ on 12/22/19 License: Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Delicious Drink at https://www.flickr.com/photos/10413717@N08/6296313634 on 12/22/19 License: Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Glass of water at https://pxhere.com/en/photo/801119?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=4e4544244cfb73a32e95b443739106a02ea10cd3-1577044454-0-AaWLaejEpCa8iSb7PxtyJRjgq6sp8reZvhspbmmcmUosfLQK8EqnYSXq9lyfhGEGBp05UOUXPjdkouVlCgm-NCHIYWz7KRU4lOKhlczbqrpSydDLXhQiWVNbQ-2kFRoHDz2vykXDtg8ufUmVuHBHULSWhuUr3CDmwgkCjRlJ1B_cbkHry7ulT2E5tAswuCr3JuG2REG5dBS5YAhf3IH5h1b-cW7mrPbzpiBRwu1VE8YyBBPB7QWDzqTD-fH6-QNs_dn0Jkid0WxzniPu6_mOqz8 on 12/22/19 License: CC0 1.0 https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/



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